Friday

Wow! So much has happened this week. I don't even know where to begin...

First and foremost, happy birthday to Jennie! Earlier tonight, Jennie, her parents, Daphne, and I celebrated the birth of Jennie at a local restaurant. Afterward, we returned home and all gathered in the living room to watch the Predators beat the Black Hawks (NHL Ice Hockey).

Daphne has been Trick-or-Treating at least three times this week and has two final candy gathering adventures this weekend. Luckily, she's way too young to appreciate the candy goodness so Jennie and I willingly help her out by polishing off the treats. After all, we do not want to commit candy abuse and let it go to waste!

In the past couple of days, our house has been shown to three more potential buyers. Based on feedback we received from our realtor (all positive news), two of the three families will most likely request an additional showing of our house in the near future (after some mulling over and comparison shopping). We are still crossing our fingers and toes that a bidding war will ensue.

Unfortunately, Daphne appears to be coming down with a minor cold (runny nose, etc). Great. On the bright side, she is building up her immunity for the future.

Here are some photos of Daphne participating in "Trunk-or-Treat" at the local YMCA:

Saturday

Daphne's busy weekend has been filled with a friend's birthday party, trick-or-treating at a local park, and a visit to the Nashville Zoo's Halloween Festivities. Clearly, the Halloween season is our favorite time of year. After all, how can you not love a time of year when chocolate is given out?

Yesterday, Jennie and I celebrated our 146th anniversary with a romantic dinner. I brought home some grub from Sonic Drive-In. Onion rings and a chili topped Coney is definitely the way to a woman's heart!

Unfortunately, there's nothing new to report on our house. Nada. Zip. Bupkus. It is still for sale and not a soul has inquired about it in over two months. On Friday, we reduced the asking price to possibly stimulate some interest.

Thursday

Daphne can now count to three (with a little help) and name a few letters of the alphabet (with lots of help). Her favorite color is "geen" (green) and she spells her name A-O-A-O-E. I suppose that's not too bad for a little, crazy baby.

Commonly heard phrases around our house are "Mama, open", "ohh, heb-bee" (heavy), and "mine, mine". Daphne can open just about anything with her fingers or teeth, lifts nearly half of her weight, and climbs furniture like Spiderman scales tall buildings. Always busy as a bee, Daphne constantly runs around the house bursting full of energy. A few hours alone with this wee nuclear reactor can exhaust even the most fit individual.

Here are some photos from this past weekend's visit to a local pumpkin farm and a photo of Daphne chowing down on a McDonald's hamburger:

Monday

Each day, she blazes into the kitchen and yells at the top of her lungs, "me bowl, poon (spoon), cup". So, I gladly reach into the cupboard and retrieve a plastic spoon or ladle, various plastic cup measurements, and a Tupperware bowl.

As Sesame Street re-runs air, Daphne loves to stir imaginary soups and stews and pauses only to feed me her magical, invisible concoction. Her eyes light up with satisfaction as she produces the perfect entree.

We took Daphne to a pumpkin farm over the weekend. I have posted several photos in an album on my Facebook profile. Check them out at your leisure...

Thursday

Phew! After many hours of searching, I finally found a worthwhile video sharing website (Yahoo! video) to provide my latest in a series of Daphne-themed home movies. Something tragic has happened to YouTube over the last few months and their uploading API has become bug-ridden and REALLY stinks! Goodbye YouTube, you are dead to me...

Last night, Jennie went out to eat with some of her girlfriends while I watched (played with) Daphne. We had a wonderful time watching TV, reading books, and as you can see in the video below, we played with her toy duck and both consumed a few too many Teddy Grahams (cookies). Enjoy!

Monday

Our realtor scheduled another realtor-only tour of our house tomorrow afternoon. We really hope it leads to more showings in the coming days...

Daphne is so full of surprises. Without any prompting whatsoever, she casually pointed at the TV and clearly said, "pumpkin". Some of her other newest words are: "train", "choo choo", "taxi", "sitting", "cooking", "TV", "mine", and "open". We are so proud that her vocabulary expands daily. If only she could recite her ABC's while balancing on one foot and blindfolded, then we might be onto something. She's so cute when she tries to read a book all by herself (speaking mostly gibberish, but very convincing and serious).

Daphne always wants to know where and what her Mimi (Jennie's Mom), Pawpaw (Jennie's Dad), Mommy, and Daddy are doing. Her animated behavior is over-the-top and priceless...

Thursday

Major milestone: Daphne said her first three syllable word today in perfect clarity: magazine. While Jennie was peeking into the mailbox with Daphne in her arms, the little parrot began repeating everything Mommy said, such as "mail", "bird", "tree", and finally, "magazine". She's such a smart little monkey...

Whether you give Daphne a warm piece of bread or a sip of ice water, she still says, "hot!" Of course, a devilish grin appears when she tells us that something cold is hot. I hope and believe she is simply testing us to see our response.

Daphne graduated from her Zoo class on Wednesday. She learned all about the senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, etc) and got to pet many different animals over her six week course. Jennie does a great job keeping Daphne busy with every type of class available for a tot.

Our house has been for sale now over 6 1/2 weeks. No recent tours, no interest, nothing. I wish this stagnant market would turn around soon. Oh well, I guess we will continue to wait on the perfect offer.

After the first week of the NHL regular season, the Nashville Predators are on pace to win 82 games and lose 0. Hey, with a perfect 2-0 record, we are tied for first place, too!

Sunday

Daphne learned how to jump on the bed this weekend (oh, brother). Her giggles are quite infectious as she flops around the mattress. She's not yet tall enough to climb onto our bed by herself, so she cries, "hep me Daddy! peas hep me" (help me Daddy, please help me).

She likes to hide under the "cuckers" (covers) and lay back on the "pee-loe" (pillow). Today, we taught Daphne how to pretend like she is asleep and snoring.

Daphne is developing a strong attachment to one of her crib "beckies" (blankets). Each morning, Daphne begins to stir and yells "up, up" for me to come get her. She hugs her "becky" tightly as I lift her out of her crib.

Thursday

Daphne tripped over her doggy xylophone earlier tonight and she uttered the curse word "sh*t" at least half a dozen times. I wonder where she learned that naughty expression? It's very difficult to correct her with a straight face (as I was laughing on the inside). Oh well, I am certain Daphne will embarrass us in a public setting someday verbally.

Daphne has erupted two tiny little canines (upper teeth). They are so cute and sharp, too! My little princess now has a mouth full of chompers. Fourteen of her twenty baby teeth have arrived by her 19th month of life.

Check back for some new photos this weekend.

Yay! The NHL regular season is finally underway as of today. I am ecstatic...